An EgyptAir airliner has been hijacked and forced to divert to Larnaca airport on the south coast of Cyprus.
BBC reported that the Flight MS181, an Airbus A320 was carrying 81 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo, when it was taken over by a hijacker.
A passenger said that he was wearing an explosives belt.
Reports say that the negotiations are currently underway but no demands have been made by those in control of the plane.
A local journalist told the BBC that some passengers had been seen leaving the plane.
Larnaca airport has been closed and scheduled flights diverted elsewhere.
EgyAir, meanwhile said that all passengers had been freed except four foreigners and crew members.
EgyptAir said the Airbus A320 was carrying 56 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo, along with six crew and a security official. It had earlier said 81 passengers were on board.
A senior Alexandria airport official said those on board the flight when it took off included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, one Italian and 30 Egyptians.
“The pilot said that a passenger told him he had an explosives vest and forced the plane to land in Larnaca,” the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said in a statement.
“The information we have so far is that it is one hijacker. The person has yet to make any demands,” Cypriot foreign ministry Alexandros Zenon told French television.
A policeman stands guard at Larnaca Airport near a hijacked